A Simple Soup

I like to think of this soup as a minestrone but I actually don't have any idea what defines minestrone soup. When I looked it up I found out that minestrone actually means "hodgepodge" and it is generally a vegetable soup often with rice or pasta, can be vegetarian or not, contain meat or not, and can be made from different types of stock. So I feel somewhat comfortable calling this soup a minestrone.

Its a simple recipe that can be made from what ever you have in the house or a trip to your pantry with a few fresh ingredients thrown in. I should do another post on what I consider to be a proper pantry but that's another post. The reason I like making soups is that they are almost entirely improvization. To me soup is anything that you add to broth. My dad used to make us tortilini soup and just added store bought pasta to canned chicken broth and some spices. You really can't go wrong with soup unless you add a really fatty meat to a broth soup. I don't do cream based soups so that's probably why I can say that.

A Hodgepodge Soup
Serves 4-6 people
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour

1 tbs olive oil
2 large containers chicken stock (can be veggie stock)
3 cups fresh or frozen veggies like carrots, celery, peas, or other traditional soup veggies
1 small onion
3 large cloves garlic
2 large cans kidney beans
1 bunch of kale (washed and cut into small pieces)
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 cup small pasta (like elbows)
1 egg for each serving
Salt, Pepper, and dried basil to taste

Saute your onions in a large dutch oven in the olive oil. Add the garlic when the onions are soft. Add the remain ingredients and simmer over a low flame until the pasta is cooked and the kale is wilted and incorporated into the soup. Add spices to taste.

When you are ready to serve, crack an egg in the bottom of the serving bowl and add the soup on top. Add more stock or water if necessary. Still around to cook the egg.

If you want to make this vegetarian or vegan, use vegetable broth, add more beans, and you could probably throw in tofu. You can also add left over chicken if you want meat.